Who Hasn't Touched Him?
Mark 5:24-34
This disciples seemed a
little perturbed that Jesus would ask, “Who touched me?” when there was such a
large crowd pressing in on Him to get a closer look and get something from Him. The question should probably have been, "Who hasn't touched me?"
This woman was very weak it
seems and the narrative tells us she had a blood disease that no doctor could
heal for 12 years. She had spent all her money and was in a place of terrible
weakness. She had no money. She was by law isolated from the society and even
her family. She could not in her condition even enter the place of worship, The
Temple. She did what she could do to make herself well but nothing worked, all
her strength was gone and all her hope with it. But then there was Jesus. This
man who everyone talked about good or bad who it was said could heal all sorts
of diseases. Despair brought her to the Messiah, nothing else. She finally
realized that there was nothing she could to get well so she put what little
trust she had in Him.
Sometimes our strength and self-sufficiency
can be our greatest weakness. We do things for the Lord instead of praying to
Him. Our abilities to work and figure things out seems endless. Men especially
are the great fixers of things, the figure-outers, and the puzzle solvers. That
is of course until life stumps us. We run into the one puzzle we can’t solve,
the relationship we can’t fix, and the sickness we can’t figure out.
When we get to that place,
like the woman in the story, we begin to understand the importance of weakness.
Just as strength may be our greatest weakness, weakness can be our greatest
strength.
Where was everyone else in
the story? They were all around Jesus. They were looking to hit the Jackpot.
But even though they were in the presence of God Most High, they seemed to have
missed the meaning of the moment. The woman had only one focus, “If I can just
touch his robe, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:28). She knew that everything she
tried to do ended in failure, but the One who could heal her was close by and
wild horses couldn’t keep her away.
I see Christians who have
problems in their lives shy away from the Lord and avoid the people of God and
the assembly of the church. They don’t seek help or direction yet He is the One
Who commands, “Come unto Me.” The Word tells us, “Let us not neglect our
meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now
that the day of his return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25).
Why don’t more people touch
Jesus with the attitude of this woman? Ask yourself “Do I need Him, His
direction, His Word, His healing, His love, His forgiveness and His mercy?
Shoot through the crowd and be the one who truly touches the hem of His
garment.
